David Ginola has slammed football's world governing body FIFA after withdrawing from the race to become president of the organisation.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United winger was in the running to challenge Sepp Blatter in this year's election for the top job, although having failed to receive the five nominations required to continue with his campaign he had no choice but to pull out.
Ginola has now accused officials such as Michel Platini and Blatter of blocking his path to become president due to the fact that he failed to receive a single vote from any of any of FIFA's 209 organisations.
"I put my toes in the shark-infested waters and my limbs are still intact, although I don't know how," The Sun quotes him as saying. "I was surrounded by white sharks, tiger sharks, bull sharks, the dangerous ones.
"The game is vicious. People started to realise we were on the right path, saying the right things. That was when the doors started to close. Some very powerful people are there, dictating the game."
Blatter, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Luis Figo and Michael van Praag remain in the running to land the job.
